EM HSS" 



Harvard 
in the War 






1917 



7. ?r. ^U U^ 



^i>c^'^ HARVARD IN THE WAR 



SINCE the outbreak of the War, President Lowell has 
sought to use in the service of the nation every facility 
which Harvard University could afford. The record of 
the University thus far has been a creditable record and for 
the duration of the war it must be maintained. The most 
notable achievements and activities are as follows. 

The French Mission 

In response to the request of President Lowell and through 
the courtesy of the French Government, six French Officers 
under the leadership of Colonel Azan arrived in Cambridge 
in May. They actively assisted in the instruction in the 
Harvard Reserve Officers Training Corps, remaining for the 
duration of the Corps. At the conclusion of the first Govern- 
ment Camps, 550 officers selected from the 11 camps east of 
the Mississippi River were ordered to Cambridge by the War 
Department for a further four weeks' training under the 
French Officers. Colonel Azan and his associates were the 
first in the United States to demonstrate the value of French 
Officers for instruction in modern warfare. For the coming 
year they will assist in the training of the National Army at 
the Government cantonments. 

The Reserve Officers Training Corps 

Immediately upon the declaration of war, the Harvard 
Regiment was converted into a Reserve Officers Training 
Camp. Intensive training was supplied from May 8, 1917, 
to August 15, 1917. The total enrollment was 1885. Of 
these 1139 were undergraduates at Harvard, 309 were Har- 
vard graduates, 290 were men from other colleges, and 147 
were men with no college affiliations. The Freshman Halls 



were used as barracks, the basement of University Hall for 
administrative offices and lecture rooms, and field training 
was supplied at Soldiers Field, at Fresh Pond, Waverley, and 
Barre. 

Naval School for Wireless Operators 

This school was established in May under Commandant 
Rush of the Charlestown Navy Yard. Enlisted naval cadets 
are given a three months' course in wireless telegraphy. The 
Navy Department at first assigned 250 men for this course. 
The numbers have been constantly increasing until there are 
now 1900 men in the school. They are housed, fed and 
taught in university buildings in Cambridge. Other similar 
schools throughout the country have now been closed and all 
instruction in wireless for the Navy Department will for the 
duration of the war be carried on at Harvard. 

Cadet School for Ensigns 

Under the authority of the Navy Department, the Cadet 
School, First Naval District, is now established at Harvard 
to supply selected members of the Naval Reserve and others 
with the instruction necessary to qualify them for the 
ensigns' examination. The instruction is substantially the 
equivalent to that given in the similar course at Annapolis. 
The course lasts four months and 150 men are now enrolled 
at the School. Upon receiving their commissions, the men 
are assigned to active duty. All of these 150 cadets are 
housed and fed in university buildings in Cambridge and the 
equipment of the university used in their instruction. 

Special Training for Quartermaster and 
Ordnance Corps 

At the request of the Council of National Defense, the 
Graduate School of Business Administration established two 



courses to give special training useful to those intending to 
enter the Quartermaster or Ordnance Corps. One course, on 
Military Stores Keeping, and one on Cost Inspection for War 
Contracts. In addition, a course on Supply was offered to 
members of the Harvard R. O. T. C. The course was de- 
signed for prospective officers of the line who will serve with 
troops. There were enrolled in these courses 145 men 
selected for their fitness for the work. 

Military Instruction, 1917-18 

For the present year there are two courses of military in- 
struction; one designed for those who have had no previous 
experience and the other an advanced course for those who 
have had previous training. There are about 700 under- 
graduates enrolled in the elementary course and about 325 
in the advanced course. 

The elementary course is similar to that given heretofore 
and includes instruction in Infantry Drill Regulations, Field 
Service Regulations, Topography, Armaments, Formations 
and Tactics, Military Organization and Hygiene, Camp 
Sanitation, First Aid to the Wounded, and Military Policy 
of the United States, 

Of the 326 in the advanced course, 231 are graduates of 
the summer Harvard R. O. T. C. and the remainder have 
had previous military training at a Federal Camp, with the 
State Militia, or with some similar organization. The in- 
struction given these men is a continuation of their previous 
training and is conducted primarily under the direction of 
the French Officers. Such subjects are dealt with as ad- 
vanced map reading and Military Topography, reading of 
French maps, sand table work, entrenchments, etc., to scale, 
company administration, military history, history of the 
military development in the present war, field orders, minor 



tactics (French and the United States), and railroad trans- 
portation. 

There is drill for both classes. The experienced men act as 
the officers of the Regiment and have in addition advanced 
work in French formations by themselves in the field. 
Practical instruction is given to all in drills, close and ex- 
tended order, sighting and aiming drills, bayonet practice, 
gallery practice, map making, semaphore, wig- wag and in the 
best methods of trench warfare developed in the European 
War. 

Major T. F. Flynn, U.S.A. Retired, is the Commandant. 
Lt. Colonel Azan and Lt. Morize, of the French Mission to 
Harvard, are again detailed to the University. 

Naval Courses 

Courses have been established designed primarily for under- 
graduates in the Naval Reserve on leave of absence at the 
University who expect to offer themselves for the Ensign's 
examination. Instruction will be given in the Theory and 
Practice of Navigation, Nautical Astronomy, Naval History, 
Seamanship, Ordnance and Gunnery, Naval Regulations 
and Drill. Those who satisfactorily pass these courses will 
be permitted to take the examination for commissions as 
Ensigns in the Naval Reserve. 

Military Medicine 

At the request of the Surgeon-General, courses in both Army 
and Navy Medicine were given at the Harvard Medical 
School. Also, a course in Orthopedic Surgery has recently 
been established to give advanced instruction to selected 
members of the Medical Corps. Upon completion of the 
course they will be assigned for active duty to the Recon- 
struction Hospitals in France and in the United States. 



Summer Instruction to Medical Students 

In order to permit medical students to obtain their degrees 
at the earliest possible moment, instruction for the fourth 
year class was continued at the Medical School throughout 
the summer months. By this procedure, ninety men will 
obtain the degree of M.D. and become available for the 
Medical Corps in February instead of in June. 

Base Hospital Units 

The medical personnel of four Base Hospital Units has been 
composed almost wholly of members of the teaching force of 
the Harvard Medical School or its graduates. Three of 
these units are now on active service " Somewhere in 
France " and the other is awaiting orders. 

Dental Clinics 

Upon the request of the Government, the clinic of the Har- 
vard Dental School with its 125 chairs has been utilized to 
give dental treatment both to drafted men and to those 
temporarily exempted for physical unfitness on account of 
the condition of their teeth. The Dental School also main- 
tains 2 chairs at the Naval School for Wireless Operators and 
1 at Commonwealth Pier for members of the Naval Reserve. 

The Botanical Raw Products Committee 

The Bussey Institution of Harvard University is serving as 
the headquarters of this committee organized under the 
authority of the Council for National Defense. It serves as 
a clearing house where manufacturers needing raw products 
of a botanical nature may obtain information in regard to 
them. It also collects and disseminates agricultural, botani- 
cal and commercial data on all species and varieties of plants 
having an economic value. 



Psychological Tests for Aviators and 
Submarine Operators 

The Department of Psychology is engaged in developing and 
standardizing psychological tests which will enable the 
Government to select from a group of aviation recruits those 
who will in all probability make successful fliers and those 
who ought not to enter the service. With the authority of 
the Government, 75 men have already been tested. They 
are now at flying schools and as rapidly as the reports on 
their ability are received, they will be compared with the 
results of the various laboratory tests to determine which are 
sensitive to aviation ability. Similar experiments are being 
carried on, designed to determine the fitness of enlisted men 
in the Navy to operate submarine detecting devices. 

The Department of German 

At the request of the authorities of the Charlestown Navy 
Yard, members of this Department have been acting as 
translators of German. They went over the German 
steamers seized by the Government translating all inscrip- 
tions, directions and papers found thereon, 

French Conversation at West Point 

At the request of the War Department, several members of 
the French Department spent the summer months at West 
Point helping the cadets become proficient in French con- 
versation. The instruction was of a most informal character 
and was carried on for the most part during meals and leisure 
moments. 

College Buildings Devoted to Military Purposes 

The following college buildings are being used by the Govern- 
ment or for the exclusive military needs of the University: 
Pierce Hall, The Hemenway Gymnasium, Memorial Hall, 



Hastings Hall, Perkins Hall, The Studio Building, The 
Crufts Laboratory, Holyoke House, the dining room in 
Standish Hall, lecture rooms in Harvard Hall, the basement 
of University Hall, and a portion of Dane Hall. 

Opportunities for French Conversation 

A room in the yard has been reserved for those who wish 
to acquire proficiency in French conversation. Under the 
auspices of the French Department, some one will at stated 
times be on hand to converse informally in the French lan- 
guage. The French Ofiicers, the Exchange Professor, and 
other Frenchmen in Cambridge are cooperating in order 
to supply an adequate opportunity for undergraduates and 
graduates to become familiar with the everyday use of that 
language. In many ways every effort will be made to build 
up a French centre at Harvard. 

War Records of Harvard Men 

For the immediate needs of Harvard men, their families and 
friends, as well as for the future historian, complete data is 
being gathered together of the war activity and present 
address of every Harvard man engaged in any form of 
national service. This work is being carried on under the 
auspices of the Alumni Association and the information is 
available to all. The records thus far collected show that 
Harvard's contribution of men is as follows : 

United States Army 1,997 

Harvard R. O. T. C. and other military bodies. . . . 917 

Foreign armies 122 

United States Navy 713 

Red Cross and other relief work 229 

Ambulance service 420 

National, State and other committee work 498 

Miscellaneous 125 

Total 5,429 



The Harvard Bureau in Paris 

For the convenience of Harvard men in France, a Bureau has 
been established in Paris. It is quartered in the American 
University Union, 6 Rue de Richeheu. The Union has been 
estabhshed and will be maintained by the leading American 
colleges and technical schools to meet the needs of American 
college men and their friends in Europe. It includes bed- 
rooms, reading rooms, baths, and restaurant. The American 
Red Cross and the Y. M. C. A. are cooperating in its manage- 
ment. Within the Union several of the larger universities 
are maintaining separate bureaus. The Harvard Bureau will 
be the centre for all information relating to Harvard men. 
Several graduates will be in readiness to follow up special 
inquiries where the regular channels fail, to visit the injured 
in hospitals and to render every possible service to Harvard 
men and their families. Harvard has offered to perform this 
same service for men of Amherst, Bowdoin, Dartmouth, and 
Williams in the event that they do not find it desirable to 
send a representative to France and to join forces with them 
in any case. 

War Activities of the Teaching Staff 

One hundred and sixteen members of the teaching staff have 
either severed their connection with the University or ob- 
tained a leave of absence to devote their full time to war 
work for the government. One hundred others are engaged 
in some form of national service while conducting their regu- 
lar courses of instruction at the University. 



AN APPEAL TO HARVARD MEN 

Thus has Harvard met her obligations to the nation. The 
policy of the University has been to offer every facility to 
the country, consistent with maintaining the regular course 
of instruction, and as a university to make the same ready 
response to the call of the nation that Harvard men have 
made as individuals. 

Much of this war work involves additional expense which 
cannot be met from the regular funds of the University. 
Harvard men and friends of the University are therefore 
asked for subscriptions to enable Harvard to maintain and 
to develop as occasion demands every opportunity for ser- 
vice to the Government. Realizing the enormous demands 
at the present time for subscriptions for worthy causes, we 
are asking now only for the amount necessary to meet the 
immediate needs. 

$30,000 is needed now 

Robert F. Herrick, Chairman. 
Charles Francis Adams, Treasurer. 
Langdon p. Marvin. 
F. L. HiGGiNsoN, Jr. 
J. W. Hallowell. 

Special CommiUee of the Board of Overseers 
on Military Affairs. 



Checks should be made payable to the order 
of C. F. Adams, Treasurer, and mailed to him 
at 50 State Street, Boston. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



020 914 371 9 



